|
|
 |
Somali Pirates Release Ship with Russians on Board
The freeing of the ship Amiya Scan, which was seized by pirates at the end of last month, cost the Dutch firm Reider Shipping $1.25 million, reports the AllAfrica website, citing the Somali Radio Garowe. There were four Russians and five Filipinos on board the ship. Authorities in Putland (a self-proclaimed state in the east of Somalia) planned to take the ship by storm, but the Russian Foreign Ministry contacted the Somalis and asked them not to undertake any action that would threaten the safety of the hostage sailors.
The pirates freed the ship yesterday, although the exact sum of the ransom for it was not released in the first reports from the scene. Somali pirates seized about ten ships in 2008. Most of them were ransomed for high sums. Frequent attacks on ships off Somali have forced the UN to pass a special resolution on combating piracy under which foreign military ships have permission to enter Somali territorial waters to show armed resistance to the pirates.
www.kommersant.com
|
|
|
